Discussion: GOP Sens. Send Signals Of Defection, Spelling Doom For Trump's Hard Line

angrychickadee · January 9, 2019, 2:44pm

Indeed, as Adam Serwer put it, the cruelty is the point.

tjirish44 · January 9, 2019, 2:44pm

What Trump doesn’t get is the Democrats in the House are in no position to budge from their position. The Democrats retook the House based on this exact kind of confrontation the voters wanted. A check on Trumps extreme ideas. A Wall is stupid. There is no border crisis. Remember the debt issue when Obama was President. The country was going bankrupt. The debt issue is still there along with all the other issues in this country. Immigration is still an issue but there is no crisis.

mames5 · January 9, 2019, 2:44pm

She really stopped being interesting after the stimulus vote in '09.

zillacop · January 9, 2019, 2:49pm

If Collins really gets concerned, it will be because she’s planning to run in 2020. Her opposition will be funded through Crowdpac that is now up to $3,763,847 to contribute against the always concerned Collins.

valgalky23 · January 9, 2019, 2:52pm

I don’t know why we dally with all this psycho babble and don’t start hitting McConnell hard on putting bills on the floor. Why is the MSM letting him get away with crawling under his rock and not be challenged? If we pulled a full court press on Mitch, we’d get some movement on this and I don’t mean just the usual bathroom movement.

steviedee111 · January 9, 2019, 2:52pm

Better than any map:

josephebacon · January 9, 2019, 2:54pm

41 Republican Senators don’t care.

greylady · January 9, 2019, 2:57pm

For comparison- a map showing the number of Federal Employees impacted per state because of the latest shutdown

Here’s a link to the full article on the Washington Post:

zillacop · January 9, 2019, 2:59pm

Would love to see someone start some Crowdpac funding against them as has been done against the concerned Collins.

john819 · January 9, 2019, 2:59pm

Add the special election in AZ (McCain’s seat, first temporarily occupied by Kyl and now by McSally) to the mix up in 2020.

chelsea530 · January 9, 2019, 3:01pm

MSNBC just showed four people interviewed in Laredo, TX, about Trump’s stupid performance last night about the need for a wall. The first guy was Hispanic and said no wall necessary. How about some money for infrastructure? Then an old white guy. Then a woman who said she saw no crisis in her city. No wall needed. Then another old white guy.

Wanna guess what the old white guys said? Losers, just like their “hero.”

johnscotus · January 9, 2019, 3:02pm

I’m beginning to think that Collins won’t even run in '20. She’s pretty much trash to the constituency she used to be able to count on in Maine.

birdford · January 9, 2019, 3:03pm

I ceased believing in moderate Republicans quite a while ago, but somehow the myth persists.

steviedee111 · January 9, 2019, 3:04pm

22 in 2020, followed by 21 in 2022, total of 43 in next two cycles. Dems are 12 followed by 12, or 24. The GOP is definitely more on the defense and having to spend vastly more money in the next two Senate cycles than Dems.

sniffit · January 9, 2019, 3:04pm

OT, but WTF. “FoRRest” fires? Someone needs to get the foreigner blowing smock via Trump’s twitter account some Engrish lessons.

paulw · January 9, 2019, 3:05pm

So at this point it’s clear that bills to reopen the bill would clear the senate. Regardless of what McConnell does, the narrative keeps getting worse.

Just asking for a friend:: what happens if the senate majority leader is for some reason unable to appear?

jtx · January 9, 2019, 3:06pm

McConnell is done and he knows it. He has no incentive to be any thing other than what he is. Trump is in the same boat and it is what makes these guys dangerous.

chelsea530 · January 9, 2019, 3:06pm

McConnell is speaking right now on the floor of the Senate. He’s all in and just reiterating what Trump said last night. Trump’s proposal is “eminently reasonable.”

He’s pathetic.

chelsea530 · January 9, 2019, 3:11pm

Michael Steele says nothing will change today. He thinks Trump will go ahead and declare a national emergency because it buys him some time and makes him look good to his base. That’s all this is really about.

Great pressure must be brought to bear on these senators!! So far, there hasn’t been enough.

valgalky23 · January 9, 2019, 3:11pm

Well, McConnell has unfortunately been my Senator for over 30 years and I can tell you that he never, ever thinks he’s done. Way too soon to tell from here in KY as to how much danger he is in regarding 2020. I think 2020 will be the best chance we’ve ever had to beat him, but we don’t count on that, the fight will still be hard. Even our idiot Governor that most everyone hates, might run for his seat, but that would be even worse if he won.